Florida Marlins trade Uggla to the Atlanta Braves

Let me start off by saying trading a guy within your own division is never sound policy. Furthermore not getting enough in return is even worse policy. I think this trade proves that the Florida Marlins are the worst run MLB team. They traded Dan Uggla, whom they could not sign to a long tern extension (probably due to their cheapness), to divisional rival Atlanta. Before we go any father a quick look at the deal:

• Atlanta gets : 2B Dan Uggla
• Florida gets: Utility man Omar Infante and RP Mike Dunn

This move is made necessary for the Braves by the uncertain future of 3B Chipper Jones. It seems the plan will be to move 2010 starting 2B Martin Pardo over to third if needed, or possibly the outfield. Don’t get me wrong Pardo hit .305 with 66 RBI’s so the Braves will find a spot for him in their lineup. They add Uggla to their lineup and his .287 and 105 RBI to their lineup.

Sure Infante is a pretty good bench guy. He did hit .321 for the Braves in 134 games. I wonder if the Marlins plan to use him as their everyday second baseman. That would probably be a mistake as Omar has never proven that he is an every day player. A great, call him super utility guy, but not an everyday guy. As for Dunn, he racked up an impressive amount of strike outs between Triple A ball and the Majors.

Really though the Marlins have remade their bullpen for the long term. In addition to Dunn they have added Ryan Webb, Edward Mujica, and Dustin Richardson. However, trading a guy in your own division will likely come back to haunt them.

Related Links:

• The Business of Major League Baseball
• Joshua Lobdell.com